I find the process and results of marbling fascinating, in a Mr. Spock kind of *fascinating* way, meaning that it grips me and makes me want to jump in and try it myself. The patterns that are formed are beguiling and the notion that I can do this myself, with only a little effort, using Easy Marble meant an instant attraction that I was eager to explore.
Since Easy Marble is a solvent base it floats on the surface of the water and the colors remain discrete without any mixing, so you can use turquoise and orange together and get marbled patterns in those colors without ever making a muddy brown.
That solvent base also means a reasonably short work time of 2 to 3 minutes, but it’s simple to get accustomed to dropping the colors on the water, manipulating them, then dipping the item you want to pattern into the swirls. Easy Marble dries to the touch in 15 to 20 minutes and is fully dry in 24 hours.
You’ll want to use a container that is reasonably close in size to the item you are marbling and keep in mind that if it’s something other than a flat piece of paper you’ll need to choose one that’s deep enough to submerge the item in.
Easy Marble is suitable for use on a lot of different surfaces; paper, plastic, metal, wood, Styrofoam, and glass are all perfect for marbling on. In today’s video you’ll see me work on 140# watercolor paper and metal shapes, but the doors are wide open for you to explore beyond what I did. I didn’t have our new Watercolor Art Parts and Watercolor Sentiments when the video was filmed, so you won’t see them at all, but recalling that they’re cut from 140# watercolor paper… they’re a perfect surface to work on!
Some of the other items noted below were not shown in the video, but the process is identical. Imagine some of Tim’s larger Ideaology metal shapes with colorful patterns on them – what’s not to love?!
Supplies For This Video:
5 Comments
Hi Barb,
Is there any concern with clean up and remnants in the water clogging the drain?
One of those multi-toothed hair picks would be great for moving the color. In a marbling class I took eons ago we used straight pins laid out and held down to a strip of strong cardboard with masking tape. Spacing can be random or in a pattern. Fun stuff but I never wanted to get into the carrageenan, ox gall and all the gear needed. This looks like a terrific option!
Hi Donna,
I would imagine there could be, if you’re not careful to remove as much of the Easy Marble from the water.
Straining the water through a couple of layers of cheesecloth would probably capture everything.
There are a number of ways to create tools that I didn’t have time to explore, but what you describe would be a fab option!
Can you marble and fabric
Hi Pat,
I haven’t tried so am not sure. The best thing I can suggest is to give it a whirl.
Barb
Hi Barb, What about sealing or varnishing a finished piece? Can you or should you do that?
Thanks for your awesome videos.